Local bourse gets boost from 'Apple concept stocks'

TAIPEI -- Shares in Taiwan got a boost yesterday from gains posted by companies in the Apple supply chain on expectations that the U.S. consumer electronics giant would report strong results for the quarter to March later in the day, dealers said.

Turnover remained thin, however, amid lingering concerns over a possible tax on gains from stock investments with selling shifting to old-economy stocks from the high-tech sector, they said.

Worries over the debt problems in the eurozone were also running deeper after French President Nicolas Sarkozy, one of the financial restructuring plan's architects, lost in the first round of France's presidential election, they added.

The weighted index closed up 17.75 points, or 0.23 percent, at 7,498.8, after moving between 7,444.74 and 7,533.55, on turnover of NT$68.37 billion.

The market opened down 0.32 percent and moved to the day's low as investors took cues from the losses suffered by Wall Street and the European markets overnight amid growing expectations that Sarkozy will lose to Socialist challenger Francois Hollande in a run-off scheduled for May 6, they said.

Sarkozy's defeat could have an adversarial impact on Europe's ongoing financial restructuring process as Hollande has openly opposed harsh austerity measures imposed in many countries to resolve existing financial difficulties, they said.

During the session, "Apple concept stocks" regained momentum after a recent pullback to help the local market reverse its early losses and close in positive territory at the end of the session, they said.